When I’m pregnant, I don’t get cravings for specific foods, or weird combinations like pickles and ice-cream. I get cravings for general food groups. With my daughter I craved fruits. With Joseph, I craved meat. With this one, I’m back to craving fruit. So when I saw the Black Bean and Mango Quesadillas on Our Best Bites this week, I had to make them. I followed the recipe as written for the majority of us, but I made Joseph his own allergy-friendly ones.

The Changes

I substituted corn tortillas for the flour ones, and cheddar Daiya for the pepperjack.

The Method

Sara says that this meal takes only 20 minutes. It took me at least 40, I suspect because she already had the salsa prepped, and I didn’t have a very efficient way of pipelining the assembly of the quesadillas. I was too afraid of it burning.

First, make the salsa, by combining mango, red onion, bell pepper, jalapeno, cilantro, and lime juice in a bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine, then set aside. And can I just say I am so proud that this was my first time dealing with jalapeno and I didn’t end up hurting myself with it? Wowee, did it clear the sinuses as I was cutting it though.

Place black beans in a microwavable bowl with water, cumin, coriander, onion powder, and garlic powder. Stir until evenly coated. Then cover with plastic wrap and poke holes with a fork to vent. Microwave on high for about 1 1/2 minutes, or until beans are hot. Mash with a fork until you reach desired consistency.

Heat a griddle or a skillet on medium high heat. Brush one side of a tortilla with canola oil, then place oil side down on the skillet and top with Daiya cheese.

When cheese is mostly melted (since Daiya has a hard time melting at times), remove from heat, spread beans on one half, top with mango salsa, and then fold over. Serve warm.

1-2 Tablespoons finely minced jalapeno (I used half of the pepper in the picture. Thankfully, it was a mild one)

2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro

1 Tablespoon lime juice

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

salt and pepper

1 1/2 Tablespoons water

1-2 cups cheddar Daiya cheese

5-7 corn tortillas

2 Tablespoons canola oil

In a bowl, combine mango, onion, red pepper, jalapeno, cilantro, and lime juice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir until combined, and then set aside.

In a microwavable bowl, combine black beans, cumin, coriander, onion powder, garlic powder, and water. Cover with plastic wrap, and prick with a fork to vent. Microwave on high for 1 1/2 minutes, until beans are hot. Mash with a fork until desired consistency is reached. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Heat a skillet or griddle to medium-high heat. Brush oil on one side of the tortillas. Place tortilla oil side down on skillet, and spread cheese on top. Heat through until cheese is melty. Remove from heat. Spread beans on one half of the tortilla, then top with mango salsa. Fold other half of tortilla over. Serve warm.

Makes 3-4 servings.

What I Thought

I was surprised at how quickly I ran out of filling. I was also pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the sweetness of the mango in the quesadilla, and that I hadn’t made the salsa too spicy. My husband would have preferred me to puree the salsa – he prefers more of a sauce to chunks. Still, he liked it. Neither of my kids wanted to touch the filling, just the cheese tortilla part. I really should have expected that. Either way, I’m thrilled to know that I can make a tasty quesadilla on the stove without butter.